If you run Local Services Ads, the “Google Guaranteed” or “Google Screened” ads at the top of the results, Google is moving them into Google Ads. Customers will see the same ads. What changes is where you manage them, how your budget and bidding work, and what happens to your old reports.
Google started with a first group of home-service and storefront advertisers in August 2026 and is widening the move to more advertisers in late 2026. It emails account admins 14 days before the migration date and sends a reminder 7 days later. The part that catches people out: your old LSA performance reports don't come with you. If you want that history, you have to download it yourself before the move.
That's a 30-minute job. Here is what I'd save.
What stays and what changes
- Stays: the ads still show only on Google Search and Google Maps, and you still pay for valid leads such as calls and messages, not clicks. Past leads and call recordings carry over.
- Changes: your campaign becomes a Performance Max campaign with a pay-per-lead goal, managed inside Google Ads.
- Budget: your historical average weekly budget is divided by 7 to make a daily average budget.
- Bidding: manual bidding and the per-category target cost per lead go away. One target cost per lead applies across all your categories.
- Callouts: Better Business Bureau callouts are no longer supported. Your own custom callouts stay.
- Reports: your LSA performance reports do not move to Google Ads.
The 30-minute checklist
If you run out of time, do the first two. They are the ones you can't get back.
- Download your reports. In your Local Services Ads account, set the widest date range it allows and download every report you can as a CSV. Take a screenshot of the summary too. The CSV keeps the real numbers; the screenshot is easy to read later.
- Write down your settings. Weekly budget, bidding mode, target cost per lead for each service category, which categories are on or paused, and your callouts. Screenshot each settings page. Some of these controls won't exist after the move.
- Check where calls ring. Note the number your ad calls forward to, then call it. A familiar 330 number doesn't prove someone still answers it.
- Check your Business Profile. Hours, holiday hours, service area and phone number on the Google Business Profile linked to the ads should match your website and what you actually do. If you serve Stark and Summit but not Cuyahoga, say so.
- Replace any BBB callout. If you were leaning on a BBB callout, write a custom callout you can back up.
Reading the results after the move
Google says to allow up to two weeks for the migration to finish and for performance to settle. Put a date on the calendar for the end of those two weeks and don't make a budget decision before it. Then compare the same things against the history you saved:
- Valid leads
- Total spend
- Cost per lead
- Calls answered
- Jobs booked
Compare whole weeks, not single days. The old budget was weekly and the new one is daily, so one day of spend tells you very little. If something drops, the pattern points to the cause:
- Calls down but messages steady: check where calls forward to and your listed hours.
- Everything down: check the campaign status and budget in Google Ads.
- Calls steady but fewer booked jobs: look at who is calling and what your website tells them.
The checklist
- All LSA reports downloaded as CSV
- Summary screenshot saved
- Weekly budget written down
- Target cost per lead per category written down
- Callouts copied out
- Forwarding number tested with a real call
- Business Profile hours and service area checked
- Review date set two weeks after the move
Where the website comes in
Local Services Ads send people to your phone and your Business Profile, but plenty of them look you up before they call. If your site is slow, out of date or hides the phone number, some of those leads go to the next company on the list. If you want us to look at yours while you sort out the ads, send it over and we'll tell you what we'd fix first. Our lead checklist covers what we look at.
Questions
Will my Local Services Ads reports move over?
No. Google says your Local Services Ads performance reports will not transition to Google Ads. Your past leads and call recordings do carry over, but the performance history does not, so download it before your migration date.
Is my LSA campaign becoming Performance Max?
Yes. Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with a pay-per-lead goal. You do not need to build a new campaign yourself. Google moves the existing one and emails you before it happens.
Will I start paying per click?
No. Google says you still only pay for valid leads, such as phone calls and messages, not for clicks. The ads still show only on Google Search and Google Maps.
What happens to my weekly budget?
Google takes your historical average weekly budget and divides it by 7 to set a daily average budget. Write your weekly number down before the move so you can compare.
How long before the numbers settle?
Google says to allow up to two weeks for the migration to finish and for results to ramp back to stable levels. Judge the change on the full two weeks, not the first quiet day.
Sources
Drafted with AI assistance and checked against Google's help page on November 6, 2026.
